Justice Ginsburg and her colleagues across the judiciary are our nation’s most credible voices on what works and why, and a continued partnership with the U.S. judiciary will be essential to our success going forward. That’s why I am thrilled that USAID has recently renewed our agreement with the International Judicial Relations Committee so we can continue to tap into the extraordinary wealth of knowledge and experience of American judges.

Today’s Leadership Summit announces the first 12 Mekong Learning Centers to officially join our program and also kicks-off a five-day training workshop for 60 instructors and administrators from each of the participating Lower Mekong countries (Burma-Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam).

I am very pleased to be here today to help launch this important partnership between the Kenya Electricity Generating Company Limited, KenGen, and the U.S. Power Africa initiative, which seeks to bring 2,500 megawatts of low-cost, clean power on line in Kenya over the next ten years.

I’m pleased to participate in this important conference organized by the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation as part of USAID’s Anti-corruption project, and to see all of you in attendance here today.

We have shown that development is an endeavor backed by bipartisan commitment; we have shown that USAID can deliver. I have told members of Congress with whom I have met that I will be transparent and accountable – a pledge made easier by the hard work and rigor that the men and women of USAID bring to work every day. I have also said that I will not be shy about coming to Congress to ask for what we need.

I am delighted to be here this morning for the launch of this expansive vocational scholarship program. I thank all the partners who made this possible—KCB Foundation, civil society, the Government of Kenya, our colleagues in the private sector, USAID Nilinde. Most of all, I thank and commend the many young adults taking advantage of the opportunities this program will afford. It is your energy, your ingenuity, and your earnestness that inspires us and will underpin the future prosperity of Kenya.

I hope that 50 years from now someone will look back on the projects we're supporting today and deliver a speech about perspectives. Maybe he or she will ask the audience to recall a time when people still had TB. Or when women and children were unable to reach their full potential because they did not have access to quality health care. Maybe he or she will reference a life-saving vaccine that was invented and patented in India in 2016? Or a game-changing program that eliminated preventable mother and child deaths.